4 Piece Bamboo Brush Set by E.L.F

When I saw this brush set, I knew I had to have it. Even though some of the E.L.F brushes have mixed reviews, I still had to try it out.

As you can see, the set comes with four brushes and a bag. The brushes included in the set are a complexion brush,a concealer brush, a blending eye brush and a mini kabuki brush. This set will cost you $10 but remember that these products are not full size, this is a travel brush set. 

I actually like travel sets because sometimes they are easier for me to use but some people do not like them.

The complexion brush is very nice. It is soft and works well for any product. I have used it for powder foundation, powder and even blush and bronzer. This brush is a must. 

Next, is the concealer brush. I am not a big fan of concealer brushes. I honestly find it easier to use my fingers to apply concealer. This brush is decent though. It works as well as any other concealer brush and it is especially good for blending in primer. 

The blending eye brush is a great eye brush. It deposits color nicely without to much fall out. This is my favorite brush out of the set. 

Finally, the brush I was most excited about : the mini kabuki. I love kabuki brushes but am sad to report that this brush is a smidge to small.  Due to the size, it is hard to get enough product onto the brush in order to use. If you like small kabuki brushes, then you will probably like this. I just found it a bit to tiny.

The bag is good for holding all the brushes if you want to carry the set in your purse. Sadly, it is pretty ugly and your brushes may become damaged if you do not put them in carefully.

I have also heard that these brushes are comparable to Eco-tools. 

Overall, I like what I have seen of the new mineral brushes by elf. They are stylish and very soft. I am certainly going to invest in some of the full size brushes in the future. 

E.L.F Eyeliner and Shadow Stick

I figured it would be too hard to try to get a picture of this product so I just took this photo from the website.

As you can see, this is the E.L.F Eyeliner and Shadow stick. I own this product in the "Black/Smoke" duo and I love it.

The eye-liner is very dark and goes on easily. I hate black eyeliner's that don't want to show up. Another plus is that the eyeliner does not smear very much.

The second part of this product is the shadow stick which is also very good when used as a base under dark colors. If you use the shadow stick by itself, it will crease and smear. Instead, use it under dark colors to make your look more intense.

This is part of E.L.F's studio line and will cost you $3. 

This is personally one of my favorite eye-liners (even though I do not use the shadow part of it very often)

I would highly recommended this to anyone looking for a cheap bargain. This product may be found at Target or eyeslipsface.com.

Ulta Pallets

As you may know, Ulta offers their own line of makeup which includes large pallets and many mini pallets as well.

Sadly,  I have not had the best of luck with the bigger pallets but I do enjoy the smaller ones which seem to be higher quality. 

This is the first pallet that I have from ulta and I love it. It includes 8 colors which compliment each other very well. The colors have decent pigmentation. They are not matte but they only have a slight shimmer.

This is my second pallet by Ulta. It is bigger than my first pallet. It includes 12 eye shadow shades and 12 lip gloss shades. The sad thing about this pallet is that the glosses are ruined due to fall-out from the shadows. The colors in this pallet are gorgeous as well and I love them.

In my opinion, these Ulta pallets are almost as good as Sephora's brand pallets and they are cheaper. I received these pallets for about $10 a piece which is a good price considering how long the last.

Nails of the Week by - ORLY

I was so happy when I got a coupon for a free bottle of ORLY polish from Ulta. 

I went to the store as soon as I could to pick up my bottle of free polish.

Sadly, you could only choose from 3 different colors ( a blue, a sliver, or a pink)

When looking at the bottles, I was not amazed by any of the colors but I could not pass up the free polish so I decided to use my coupon to the the blue.

I do not regret the decision at all.

The Color that I choose is shade 40662 known is It's up to blue.

The only reason I did not like the color at first was because of the way that it looked in the bottle. I don't know why, but it just did not appeal to me strongly.

Boy, was I wrong. After using this polish, I would have to say that this is one of my favorite colors ever. I have worn this for the past week and received so many compliments on it at work from both men and women.

When applying the color, the polish goes on very well. Even after one coat, I had a nice vibrant color. The color seems to shimmer in the sunlight and has overall greatly improved my opinion of the ORLY brand. The color also wore very well. I only had some wear on the tips after several days and that is all

You can see how amazing the color looks from this picture.I actually took this one with my cell phone which proves how vibrant the color really is!

Christmas Glosses

Sadly, I have the hardest time with lip products mainly because I do not like them. 

I hate the way the majority of lip products feel on my lips.

Instead of lip gloss lip sticks, I usually prefer a chap-stick that has a slight color to it.

Even though I do not like lip glosses, I am constantly purchasing them because there are some that I like.

For Christmas, I got two lip glosses from my grandma that are decent.

I tried them out the other day for work and was happy to discover that they are not THAT sticky and when used together they create a nice natural look. Sadly, they quickly wear off like most lip glosses I come across. I have yet to get a lip primer :-/ 

But as you can see, I got a nice pretty look. Ignore my bad looking skin. The Macro setting on my camera makes my skin look horrid.

If you are looking for these lip glosses, the one on the left can be pictured at Ulta I believe. And of course Burts Bee's is sold at most places.

Rimmel Cosmetics

I must say that Rimmel is one of my favorite brands.

I recently started using their " Fix and Perfect" primer again (pictured left.) I think that this is my second favorite primer next to Smash Box, which is not affordable at all. The only down-side of this foundation is that it only comes in one shade. The shade works fine for me but I am not sure how it would work for those who are lighter skinned.I actually prefer a tinted primer like this because it really helps even out your skin tone.

Next, I finally used my "Stay Matte" foundation. I have had this product for a while but have not used it. I have been trying to use other foundations because I seem to have a million in one that are half empty.

I really like this foundation. It is creamy yet it does help matte the skin. I noticed reduced shine on my forehead and nose. I still have some shine and have to use powder through out the day, but I have yet to find a product that actually does everything it says.

I was very happy that this color (201, Classic Beige) seemed to work really good on me. I always seem to have the hardest time finding the right color. 

I would recommend these both, especially the primer because not many of the cheaper brands carry foundation primer.

*Just a note : I would not suggest using a foundation brush for these products because of their thickness. I would recommended a sponge or just using your fingers! :) *

FLIRT!

I used to work at Kohl's and while working there, I learned some things about their make-up lines. 

First of all, all of the make up carried at Kohl's Beauty Counters are made by the same company that makes Estee Lauder. 

What does this mean?

All of the make-up at Kohl's should be high quality and will cost you way less than Prestige Brands. 

Kohl's has several lines of make-up that they carry but my favorite brand would have to be FLIRT! I enjoy flirt because of the color selections that the brand offers. All of the colors are "hip" and seem to be very pigmented. Also, the products are packaged very nicely.

This is an eyeshadow by FLIRT! All of the pressed eye shadows should look like this and they should be called "Dream Eye-Shadow". The brand also carries "mousse" type eye shadows but I prefer either pressed or loose powder. 

This is what the outside of the shadow looks like. Excuse the dirtiness, I have had this shadow for some time but only really started using it a lot recently because my shirt for work is green.

To open the shadow, you slide it open and this is what you get in the inside. I love the way that it opens and the fact that you get your own little mirror is AMAZING.

As you can see, you get a lot of shadow. It is much bigger than most brands see and it is very reasonable for only $12. Also, if you shop at Kohl's often, you know that they are always doing shopping passes and coupons. 

Revlon Golden Affair Blush

I figured that I would review the blush that I wear almost daily. Most days, I wear Revlon Golden Affair Sculpting Brush in Shade 430 which is "Rose Rapture."

I have had this product for AT LEAST a year and I have no hit bottom yet, which is very good. 

It is a very pretty color and I love the golden circles in it that give you the perfect blush yet bronzed look. 

Unfortunately, the blush is/was limited edition and is no longer in stores. You may purchase it online though through amazon. 

Revlon is more expensive than other "drug-store brands" but many of their products are comparable in quality to Urban Decay, Too Faced, Smash Box, etc.

I hope this helps you out. 

Sinful Colors Nail Polish - Yay or Nay?

For Christmas, I received four bottles of "Sinful Colors" nail polish from my grandma that I definitely love. I got a lime green, bright red, dark blue, and blue sparkles. My two favorite colors are shown below.

For my nails this week, I used two of the polishes ( pictured above) together to create a wonderful look.

The dark blue polish is called "Hot Spot." I love this color. Sadly, its hard to see the true blue of it in the picture. I used two coats of "Hot Spot" and then I did two coats of the glitter called "Hottie" over that. 

The big upside to the brand is that it is very affordable. You can get polishes for as cheap as $1.99 at Target, Walgreen's or Alberston's. The polish wears like any other polishes I have used. You will have color chipping, but that is expected. The down side to this brand is that with all of the polishes I have used by them, I have experienced "peeling." One minute my nails will be perfect (without any chips or wear) and the next minute the entire nail will peel off.  I actually do not mind peeling too much because it is much easier for me to simply re-do the nail vs. a touch up. I can see how some people would be annoyed by this though.

Overall, I would recommend this brand/product  a "yay". I have some of their older polishes but their new formula is definitely improved. The positive outweighs the negative.  Also, the colors can be amazing (see below)

E.L.F Bronzer

Here is another wonderful elf product that I am in love with (pictured above) Online, elf has many types of bronzer's that you can purchase. Sadly, I am not a big fan of ordering from Elf online due to the fact that it takes you forever to get your purchase and that for this specific brand I much prefer to see the product in person.

The bronzer pictured above is from the essential line by E.L.F. If you don't know, the essential is the cheapest line by E.L.F and all of the products are sold for $1.

The color above is "Sun Kissed" which I purchased at Target. The picture they show online is much different than what the color looks like in person.  On the site, this shade appears to be peachy but in person there is no peach tones at all.

I have tried my fair share of bronzer's and I usually find that the color is much too dark and does not blend well. I was so pleased after getting this bronzer because it works perfectly and looks very natural as well. It is not matte but it doesn't have too much shimmer.

My only complaint is that I over estimated the size of the product. Usually blush, bronzer or powder will last me a very long time. I have been using this product for a few weeks at tops and I hit the bottom today. I would still recommended using this product because it really is amazing for $1 (even if you don't get that much!)

E.L.F REVIEW

I bought this product a while ago and just started using it this week. It is so amazing and I like it a lot. I love the fact that is is a duo and it only cost me $3. 

The concealer is really good. It is nice and creamy and it blends very well. I do two layers of it to get good coverage.

I also really like the highlighter. It is a very subtle high-light that blends very well into the skin.  Plus, I use it as a primer on my lids and it is amazing.

I would definitely recommended buying this. You can find this product at eyeslipsface.com for $3 like I said. If you are lucky like me, you should be able to find it in your local target store as well.

How to apply the product:

1) Apply your daily moisturizer or whatever you usually use on your skin

2) Apply your primer

3) Apply the concealer on your skin. I always like to put more in the corner of my eye where circles are darker and then blend out.

4) Apply your foundation as usual

5) After applying my foundation, I like to apply an additional layer of concealer(optional)

6) Finally, I apply a small amount of highlighter under my eye and blend throughly.

7) Apply highlighter to eye lid and blend in order to use as a primer.

China Glaze

I am very pleased to say that I recently purchased my first bottle of China Glaze. I am usually very cheap because I am on a very tight budget and do not want to spend full price for any nail polish. I was lucky enough to pick up one of the brand's limited edition Holiday colors. The color that I purchased is "Peace on earth" (pictured below) The polish had been marked down to Clearance for $2.99. Since I bought this at Ulta and had one of the amazing coupons, I basically ended up getting it for free.

"Peace on Earth",which is shade 887,is a very natural green color that would work well for anyone. I would of purchased more colors but I was lucky enough to get the very last bottle.

My impression: I was pleased after using the polish. The color was much prettier than I expected. The polish had great coverage. I had almost complete coverage after only one coat but I did two coats just be safe and topped it off with my Ulta top coat. I had some trouble getting a good picture of my nails (I am new to this.) I was able to get a few so you guys would get the idea. 

Please ignore my messy hair and lack of makeup! 

Beware of Cheap Makeup

I for one know how expensive makeup can be. The prestige brands can be out of many people price range. Although there are some nice in-expensive brands out there (Rimmel and Maybelline being two of my favorites), I would not advise investing in a color workshop pallet. In the past, I have had "okay" results with their individual eye shadows. Unfortunately, my color workshop pallet is a huge let down (not that I had had high expectations to begin with.)

I received this pallet as a gift a while back and was pleased with what I saw. A pallet large pallet with many colors is exactly what I love. I was even pleased that the colors appeared to be very vibrant and pigmented.As I have learned, looks can be deceiving.

The colors are not pigmented well at all (see above.) To achieve what you see, I applied way more color than I would of liked and it is still very hard to distinguish the colors from one another. The darker neutral  shades do show up but the colors are not true to what you see in the pallet. Also, the dark green and blue are barely visible at all. 

Obviously, I would not recommended a color workshop pallet to anyone. I probably will never use mine although I don't want to just throw it out. If you are broke, and desperately need makeup I would possibly try their eye shadow duos and not the pallet. I have noticed that lots of brands seem to have lower quality pallets because they try to fit too many colors in but their regular eye shadows should be okay (review coming soon)

I hope that this helps you!

XOXO

Tron Movie Review

Since I had the day off today, I decided to go see a movie tonight with my boyfriend. After much debate, we both decided to see "Tron." I was a bit skeptical at first. Don't get me wrong, I am a HUGE movie buff and I do enjoy a good sci-fi/action film.  I was just a little "iffy" after seeing the previews for it (especially since I did not know the back story to the film.)

I must admit, I was a bit confused at the films beginning. Luckily, they do a pretty good back story so I was able to figure everything out.

Lets move on to the more important things. The graphics were amazing ( I will most definitely be purchasing on Blu-Ray) What I believed to be "funny colors" really made the film stand out.

In addition to the great graphics, I was memorized by the make-up (lots of heavy eye makeup) and came up with new things to try while watching :)

Beau Garret (pictured above) looked amazing in the film, even if she turned out to be a cold hearted bitch.

Last but not least, I am a huge Olivia Wilde fan. In the film, she played the female lead called "Quorra". Doesn't she look amazing?